


The Determined Girl (Maui x Reader)

by TricksterGirl



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Moana (2016)
Genre: F/M, Other, Reader-Insert, you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-09 13:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8892145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricksterGirl/pseuds/TricksterGirl
Summary: You never expected to be washed up on an island, but you really never expected to be meeting the demigod, Maui. What were you going to do? How were you going to get home? Guess this was the start of an adventure that you weren't going to understand fully for quite sometime.





	1. Washed Up

Warning(s): In this story, the events of Moana never happened.  
Title: The Determined Girl  
Number in Series: One  
Pairing: Maui x Reader  
Fandom: Disney/Moana  
Word Count: 1,718

You woke up to the sun in your eyes and your body in the water. You quickly sat up as a wave crashed over you. It wasn't enough to pull you back out into the sea, but it did drench your already soaked body. As you stood up, water ripped from your clothes. You were glad for the weather because without the warm sun, you would be freezing. Even now, you couldn't keep yourself from shivering once or twice.

  
Before the next wave could rush over you, you scrambled up the sandy beach. Once you were a safe distance away, you sat down. You began to notice the pang of hunger in your stomach. What had happened to you? The last thing you could remember was the terrible storm that hit your village. Then, everything went black.  
You quickly looked over yourself, attempting to check for any injuries. You didn't see any cuts but you could feel the soreness that wold develop into bruises in a few days. Yet, you knew that you could be a lot worse off. You should be thankful that all you had were to-be-bruises. You should just be happy that you were still alive. You didn't like to think about what could have happened to you.

  
You took off most of your clothes and set them down on the sand to dry. To make sure that they wouldn't be blown away, you set down rocks on them. You were left in your undershirt and base skirt. They were damp, but they weren't as wet as the other piece of clothing that you had. While they were drying, you might as well go look for food. Who knows, you might even find a village. That would be nice. They'd be able to help you figure out where you are.

  
You began to search the island , for food or for the sight of any other life. You would need to find at least one of them before it got dark. You didn't want to know what creatures came out during the night. Hopefully you wouldn't have to find out. You were really glad that your feet already had developed callouses on them because your bare feet would be aching if you didn't have any. You were used to walking without shoes, no one on your island wore them. You didn't need them. You couldn't feel the vibrations if you were wearing something on your feet.

  
Gripping the rocks, you climbed the side of the hill to reach the trees on the top. You could see their leafy tops, which would have something on them. Hopefully anyway. From the distance, they seemed like they could be fruit trees. You would take anything at the moment. You grunted as you made the final pull to get your chest up on the edge. Soon you brought the rest of your body onto the the hill. You brushed yourself off as you looked around. Where should you start? The trees were probably the best bet for food. You didn't want to hunt if you didn't need to.

  
Walking over to one of the trees, you looked up to see if any fruit was growing on the branches. You saw a brown, fuzzy fruit. A coconut! You smirked and grabbed the body of the tree. You hauled yourself up and used your feet to push yourself up higher. Soon you reached the fruit. You grabbed one of the ripe fruits and began to slide down, breaking the plant that connected the coconut to the tree. Soon you reached the ground once again. You smirked, feeling proud about what you had just done. You didn't need to work with others to survive. You were doing just fine on your own.

  
You began to walk back to the side side and climbed down to where you had been washed up. It was harder to climb down the rocky cliff side while attempting to keep a hold of the coconut, but you somehow were successful. Soon you were back on the ground, the brown treasure still in your hands. Now you just needed to get a way to break it. You could use a rock, that would work.

  
As you began to walk back to your clothing; planning on using one of the rocks you had set on them to break open the coconut, you were soon stopped dead in your tracks. There was a large man holding a piece of your clothing, turning it in different directions and inspecting it. the man looked confused and curious at the same time. It took you a few seconds to realize who it was, but as soon as you saw the tattoos on his body, you knew. You saw the fishhook and the amazing achievements drawn with ink on his body and you soon realized who this was. It was Maui! The demigod, Maui!

  
You dropped the coconut onto the sandy beach due to shock before running and hiding behind one of the large rocks. Your heartbeat was rapid as you attempted to understand what was going on. Maui, here, on this island! Was it really him? Were you hallucinating? Who else could it be? You heard him walk over and grab your Maui. He could crack it open with his bare hands if he wanted. You weren't going to stop him. What if he smashed you to bits if you asked him to give back your coconut? You would probably end up like the broken coconut. You could remember the stories your father used to tell you about Maui. He was such a strong warrior, but your father had warned you of the unpredictability of demigods. Gods were dangerous and you knew that demigods were no different.

  
Just as you were about to turn around to peek , something grabbed your wrist and pulled up in the air. You struggled, your feet kicking before you saw who had picked you up. You were greeted by the handsome face of Maui, though you would never say that out-loud. He looked confused for a moment before an egotistical smirk found its way to his lips.

  
"So, you're the person who left all these offerings to me? I must say, the thought was nice though the clothing isn't going to fit me. The coconut is good though." He purred out, bring you up to his eye level. Your (e/c) were staring straight into his dark ones.

  
"Offerings? No, those are mine. I set them there to dry and the coconut was mine. I dropped it," You said, trying to keep yourself from looking intimidating. You weren't going to let yourself be scared of him just because he was a demigod. You knew that you should be scared, but there was a deep pit in your stomach that was refusing to allow you to give him what he would obviously want.

  
"Oh." He let go of your wrist and you were dropped back down onto the ground. You groaned as your butt hit the sand. You quickly stood up, glaring up at him. He could have had the politeness to just set you down instead of dropping you. You didn't know why you felt shocked by his actions. He was a demigod. They were known to be egotistical and rude. He wasn't going to be any different.

  
"So, what are you doing on this island?" Maui asked, searching the shore for a boat. He thought that you must have sailed here on something.

  
"I don't know, I washed up just a bit ago. I was washed away from my own island when a bad storm hit us. I can't remember anything after that except for now waking up here." You bent down and grabbed the coconut. While speaking to him, to began to break open the coconut. You didn't care if it was rude, but you needed to get something in your stomach. It felt like it was beginning to eat at itself.

  
"So, you didn't come here on a boat?" Maui looked disappointed and annoyed.

  
"No, like I said, I washed up. If I had a boat, my clothing wouldn't have been as wet as it was." You soon cracked open the coconut and you began to drink the water inside. It felt amazing going down your parched throat. As soon as you had finished drinking, you began to eat the meat inside.

  
Maui huffed, "Why didn't you drown?"

  
"I don't know.." You looked out into the ocean. Why hadn't you drowned? You must have been out in the water for days, at least, probably a lot longer. So, shouldn't you have died? Still, here you were. You felt like you had only been out for a day or so. But it would take a while for you to get from your island to another one. So, how were you alive?

  
"Great, well, good luck on living on this island. Guess it's your new home" Maui turned and began to walk away. You didn't know what caused you to jump up. Where was he going? You thought that he might help you. Yet, here he was, walking away from you.

  
"Hey! Where are you going?" You glared in his direction as he turned around to face you again.

  
"I'm leaving. You aren't any help to me without a boat. Buh-bye." Once again, he turned around but not before waving goodbye.

  
You groaned and were able to follow him but you felt something hit your head. Not hard, but enough to cause you to jump at the sudden feeling. You turned around to yell something at whatever had throne it. Yet, it wasn't anything. All you saw was the vast, sparkling ocean. What had just throne that at you? It couldn't have just randomly been flung at you, right? Something must have thrown it at you.

  
You looked down and saw a green stone at your feet. Slowly, you bent over and picked it up, turning it over in your hands. What was it? You couldn't tell, but something deep inside of you felt like it was important..You put it in your pouch before quickly turning back around. You grabbed all of your clothing before following after Maui.

  
You weren't going to let him ignore you that easily.


	2. A Beautiful but Beat up Boat

  
    "Kid, come on. Leave me alone." Maui looked down at you with a bored expression. Mini Maui was pointing down at you with a worried look, "Oh, shut up, She'll be fine. She made it this far already. She can figure this out herself. We already have a bunch of our own problems."   
  
    "You have to help me get off this island," You hugged as you followed him, hands clasped into fists by your side. He walked far and fast, even when it seemed like he was going at his normal speed. It caused you to have to speed walk just to keep up with him. Still, you weren't letting him get away without at least trying to make him listen to you.   
  
    "You thin if I could get off this island that I would still be here? This isn't a vacation for me," Maui growled out before walking in to his cave, "If you find a boat then come get me. But, until then, leave me alone."   
  
    With that he pushed a large bolder in the entrance to keep you from following him. You stomped your foot on the ground before turning back around If he wanted a boat, then you would get him one. You didn't know how to sail, you were just used to using a long board when you went to go check the traps. If Maui wanted a boat, then that meant that he could sail. You would find him a boat and you would make him sail you home.  
  
    But how were you going to find a boat? There was obviously not one on the island since Maui wanted one. You know that you had overestimated your ability to find a boat but you had gotten hot headed and you wanted to prove Maui wrong. You weren't a kid, you were seventeen. In your village, that was old enough to get married and start a family. You didn't want to do that which had got you in this problem in the first place. You wanted to explore which had brought you to the sea just before the storm hit. You wouldn't be in this situation if you had stayed back in the main village.  
  
    You looked out at the sea, a burning sensation of anger forming in your stomach. You picked up a rock and threw it at the ocean, attempting to ease the anger that was building. The gravity of the situation finally hit you. You weren't ready to die just yet.  
  
    "Where am I going to find a boat?!" You shouted out at the ocean in your fury, "Why don't you just kill me when I was unconscious?"  
  
    Before you could do anything, a huge wave crashed into you. It knocked you on your butt and soaked your clothes which had been close t being dry. As the water retreated, you sputtered and coughed before looking back up. Another incoming wave. You braced yourself but the cold water didn't move. If you didn't know better, you would have thought that it was looking at you. But, that was ridiculous, the ocean wasn't alive. Yet, as you stood back up, it stared at you even though it didn't have eyes.  
  
    "Are you listening to me?" You shyly asked, your fingers nervously playing with the hem of your shirt. The wave made a motion that was similar to a nod. You wanted to faint but you made sure that you didn't. You kept taking deep breaths to try to keep our calm. Of course, if Maui, one of the most famous hero in all the legends, was real, why couldn't the ocean tales be real as well. It suddenly made sense as to who had thrown that green rock at you earlier.  
  
    "Did-I mean, were you the one who saved me when I fell into the sea, or you? Did you bring me here to save me?" Once again, the ocean wave nodded toward you.   
  
    Today really didn't seem real. Had you hit your head during the storm which was causing you to hallucinate all of this? Yet, deep down, you knew that this was all real. Maui, the ocean's sentience, it was all real. You weren't quite sure how you felt about all of this. You were just in shock at the moment, you couldn't think straight.   
  
    "So, I know that I am in no position to request anything from you," You said as you got down on your knees to show respect, "But, would there be anyway that you could  get me a boat? Maui said he would help me if I get a boat but I have no idea where to get one. Please, help me once again."   
      
    The ocean took a moment before doing anything. It then motioned to the left and your gaze followed, looking to see what it was motioning towards. There, slowly sailing towards the island, was a battered ship that had  seen better days. But, that didn't matter! It was still a ship and it was floating. That was the most important part about it.   
  
    "Oh, thank you!" You squealed with delight as you jumped up and ran over to the shore. You quickly grabbed the boat and pulled the ship far enough up so it wouldn't be pulled back in.   
  
    The boat was beat up but it wasn't anything that you couldn't fix. You quickly got to work on repairing it. The faster you got the boat back to its former glory, the sooner you would be heading back to your home. You ad to sew back up the sails. You were glad you had your pouch on you, that's where you kept all of your emergency supplies. You helped patch up the deck of the ship with some drift wood. Certain parts of the boat just needed extra protection. When you finished, the boat wasn't the prettiest thing, but it would be safe to travel on.  
  
    Proud of your work, you headed back up to the cave. It was beginning to get dark. You hoped that there weren't any creatures that would attack you. When you reached the cave entrance, you decided the best way to get him to notice you was to just yell out.  
  
    "Maui! I got you that boat!" You put your hands on either side of your mouth to try to amplify your volume.   
  
    "Kid! Lying isn't going to make me come out!" He yelled back.  
  
    You hugged, he obviously wasn't going to be coming out anytime soon. You noticed an opening in the roof of his cave and came up with a plan. You easily climbed up to it and hung yourself upside down. At first it was hard for you to see but your eyes soon adjusted. Maui hadn't even noticed you yet. You let yourself fall and gracefully landed on your feet. This got his attention and he spun around, looking confused and shocked at first but then he just looked annoyed but slightly impressed.  
  
    "You said you would help me if I got you a boat! I got you a boat. Look down at the shore." You put your hands on your hips, looking up at him with a frustrated look.  
  
    "Fine, Kid, I'll look in the morning," Maui sighed, giving into you.


	3. One Condition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little short. It is a set-up chapter.

   When you woke up, you realized that you were alone in the cave. You stood up and began to look around. Where had Maui gone? When you heard him yelling to someone about about how 'he didn't feel bad, the girl will be fine. She's survived this long!', that was when you realized he had left you on purpose. You quickly scrambled out of the cave and ran down to the seaside. There you saw Maui pushing your boat into the sea and getting on it. He w was trying to leave you here and take your boat for himself.   
  
    "Hey!" You ran down to the shore. If you had enough time, you would have liked to relish in the warm sand beneath your feet. IT felt nice but you had a more important issue at hand, "Get back here! You said you'd help if I got you a boat."   
  
    Maui ignored your words, turning his attention to sailing the boat. You huffed, marching into the ocean. You got as far in as your ankle deep before realizing that you weren't going to be able to catch up to him. You felt something grab your ankle and pull you under. Luckily you had enough reaction time to keep your mouth shut as well as your eyes. Before you could try to understand what was going on, you were placed on the boat. Maui looked just as confused as you felt, but you made sure that your expression didn't convey your confusion. You tried to play it off like you dully understand what had happened.  
  
    "You are going to-" You said but before you could finish, he pushed you back into the ocean. Just like before, you were plopped back onto the boat, this time at the front of the boat. You gripped the mast,   
  
    "I said, you are going to help-" Once again when you were thrown back in the water, the ocean surrounded you and once again you were placed back on the boat. This time, Maui just went back to dealing with the boat. He was obviously trying to ignore you.   
  
    "You are going to help me get back home." You glanced up at him, almost daring him to throw you back into the sea.   
  
    "Fine, I'll help you." He sighed, looking back at you. His dark eyes looked tired, even though he had just slept. He looked as though he had just given up a long battle.  
  
    "Wait, really?" You asked excitedly.  
  
    "Yeah, cause it seems like I'm not going to be able to get rid of you."  
  
    You smirked proudly, sitting down on the side of the boat. You had just made Maui do something. You felt powerful as you began to wring out your hair to attempt to dry it. While you did that, you stared down at the sea. Why had it just done that? It had helped you majorly, but why? You weren't special in anyway. Still, here it was, helping you. As you thought about this, the sea seemed to sparkle up at you. It made a small wave and patted your pouch.  
  
    "Huh?" You mumbled, opening up your pouch. What did it want? That was when you saw the green glimmer. You pulled it out and shoved it to toward the sea, "Is this what you want?"   
  
    "Where did you get that?" You jumped and looked behind you to see Maui standing there with a scared and worried look on his face.  
  
    "The ocean gave it to me," You said, telling him the truth.  
  
    "Well, give it back!" Maui roughly grabbed it from you and threw it into the ocean, "Do you even know what that thing is?"   
  
    "No, it just gave it to me."  
  
    "It's..."Maui started but was cut off when the stone was flung back at him, hitting his head before falling back into your lap. Maui groaned before continuing, "That's the Heart of Te Fiti!"   
  
    The Heart of Te Fiti?! Your eyes widened as you picked up the stone and looked it over. Was it really it? Well, why not? You had just met Maui, why couldn't the stone be real? You remember the story of Maui stealing the stone, which caused terrible things to happen to islands that used to flourish because of the Heart of Te Fiti. Had that been the reason the storm had hit? Before your grandmother died, she would always tell you what to do if the island began to die. She would tell you how you would have to find Maui and make hi deliver the stone back to Te Fiti. You used to think she was just telling you myths, legends, stories. But you realized that it was true!   
  
    You quickly jumped up, causing the boat to sway. You kept your balance and you shoved the stone toward Maui. He as far as he could to try to get away from the stone.   
  
    "You have to take this back!" You demanded, attempting to have a forceful expression on.   
  
    "No, kid, we had a deal. I am going to take you home and then we part ways," Maui said while leaning back as far as he could without falling off of the boat.   
  
    "But my village is dying and my island is as well. That's all happening because you didn't return it."  
  
    "That isn't my problem." Maui turned his back to you. If he couldn't go any farther away he would just refuse to look at it. You pouted and crossed your arms over your chest as you watched him.  
  
    "I thought you were a hero."  
  
    "Kid, I am a hero."  
  
    "Not anymore," Your words caused Maui to turn around, eyebrows knitted together, "You thought that people will still think you're a hero after you stole this? People are dying because you didn't fix the mistake you made. You aren't a hero anymore."   
  
    Maui huffed and flopped down on the side of the boat, his legs in the ocean. He was pouting, obviously upset with what you had jut said.   
  
    "But~" You purred out, "If you were to return the Heart of Te Fiti back to Te Fiti, then people will defiantly see you as a hero again. You would save so many lives. They would think you were the best hero to ever exist. They'd scream, ' Maui, Maui, Maui."   
   
    You whisper screamed the last part of your attempt to convince him to do what you asked.   
  
    "Fine, I'll do it, but only under one condition," Maui said while standing back up.  
  
    "Oh, okay. What's that?" You asked, slowly returning the Heart of Te Fiti back to your pouch.  
  
    "We get my hook back." 


	4. The Fall

    As you sailed on the sea, you stared down into the sparkling waves. Why had the ocean saved you? It just didn't make any sense to you. You didn't think you were worthy of being chosen by the sea. There wasn't anything special about you...Sure, you were the chief's daughter but that was it.  You couldn't sail, you didn't know how to navigate by the stars. You couldn't do anything special like some of the people who lived in your village. They could do so much more than you. Were you chosen only due to chance?   
  
    You didn't want Maui to be able to tell that you were doubting yourself. You wanted him to listen to what you said. If he knew that you were just a little girl who didn't know what to do, he wouldn't take you to return the Heart of Te Fiti. You had to pretend like you knew everything and that you had everything under control. You couldn't show your real self to him. You wondered how long you were going to have to keep this mask on for.   
  
    You would do it for your island, even if you didn't want to. You knew that if you didn't make Maui respect you (at least slightly), that would be the end of your island. You needed to finish this task and get the heart back so everything would fix itself. You weren't going to let your island die just because you couldn't act well enough to fool a demigod. You just needed to keep that thought in the back of your head while you finished this quest.  
  
    "So, how are we going to be able to get your hook back?" You looked up at Maui, squinting due to the bright sun rays that wanted to blind you.  
  
    "Well, I have to travel to the realm of Monsters," He said while he brought the boat to the shore. He got off and tied a rope to a large rock to make sure that the boat didn't float away. He didn't want the boat to trap him here just after he got off his island that was his prison for so long. He wasn't going to get trapped again, never again. It wasn't worth it.   
  
    "What?!" Your eyes widened, "We're going to the realm of monsters?"   
  
    "No, I am going to the realm of monsters. You're going to stay here and watch the boat. You wouldn't make it an hour down there. You'd be dead within minutes," Maui chuckled as he began to climb the huge cliff side. Your eyes widened and you quickly followed him. He couldn't just leave you here! You were going to go and help him get his hook back.   
  
    "Wait! You can't just leave me here! We are suppose to be a team, don't you remember?!" You shouted at him, but he was too far ahead of you for him to care.  
  
    You had a bit more trouble at climbing the rocks than Maui, bur he was a lot bigger than you. It only made sense that he would have an easier time. Still, you were determined to reach the top. You needed to prove to Maui (and yourself) that you were strong enough to do this. You pulled yourself up on the rock, your stomach resting on the cold surface. You saw Maui jumped into a hole and disappear from your sight.   
  
    You pulled the rest of your body up and stood at the edge of a huge hole. You felt your stomach begin to knot in fear. Were you suppose to jump? You didn't want to do that! Still, if you were going to prove to yourself, you were going to have to jump. You had to be strong and brave, at least for your island. You slowed moved closer  and closer, your entire body shaking at what was to come. Before you could realize what you were doing, you jumped. If you did it quickly, you wouldn't have enough time to think about it and freak out.   
  
    You never realized how fast you when you fell. You never really thought about it, but here you were, experiencing it.  This was a nightmare for you, but that made sense. You were traveling to the World of Monsters. The entrance would obviously be terrifying. Still, you weren't screaming. You were too scared to even make a sound as you fell.   
  
    Hitting anything that was in your way, you soon reached the bottom. You were luckily caught by tons of vines which slowed you down so you didn't splatter on the ground. Once you untangled yourself from the vines of vegetation, you began to look around. You needed to find Maui before a monster found you. You really hadn't thought this through enough.   
  
    You ran, glad for your speed. You jumped over fallen tree limbs and dodged things that you didn't want to know what they were. You just kept running, trying to find Maui. How far could he have gone? You were starting to lose hope when you saw his bulky form standing outside of a cave entrance.   
  
    You ran over, panting due to how much you had been running. Your lungs were burning in your chest but you ignored the pain. It was only temporary, you were just glad to be near Maui now. He turned around to face you, his eyes widening when he saw you standing there.  
  
  
    "Kid, what are you doing here?!" Maui whisper screamed at you, obviously not wanting to make too much noise. You didn't know what was around here, but you didn't want to find out. You just wanted to get his hook as quickly as possible so you could then leave. The sooner you left this place, the sooner you would be to getting back to your island.   
  
    "What do you mean? I told you that I was coming. You can't just leave me with the boat. I want to help you get your hook back, that's all." You looked up at him with your big doe eyes. How could he be made at those eyes. He groaned and rolled his eyes before glancing into the entrance of the cave. As an idea popped into his head, he began to smirk.  
  
    "Fine, if you want to help, you can help. I've come up with a plan and you play a very important role in it." 


	5. Tamatoa

    This was a terrible plan and you knew it. You just felt ridiculous wearing the sparkling get up, but you didn't refuse. You didn't understand how it would work, but you were putting your trust in Maui. You had never dealt with monsters before, so maybe this was a good plan. Maui had a lot more experience with monsters in his past. He knew what a good plan was, even if you didn't agree with his idea of a good.  
  
    You walked into the cave, clashing the symbols together. You attempted to keep the fear from bubbling in your stomach. You were strong and you were going to be fine. Maui was watching over you and he said he wouldn't let Tamatoa hurt you. Even still, it was still scary when you were teasing a monster while walking into their lair. You were playing with fire and you didn't want to get burned.  
  
    Just as you were about to ask Maui what to do since he, or whatever the monster's gender was, wasn't in your sigh, when something hard grabbed your ankle. You screamed as you were thrown up in the air before being caught again, this time by the waist. You winced in pain; there would definitely be bruises there in the morning when you looked.  
  
    "A fish..." The large crab said while looking you over, "No? Hm...You aren't a fish, are you? You have those legs. You are one of those humans, right? Never fond of those creatures myself. All they are goof for is to be my dinner or a snack. Not the best tasting thing, but still food is food."   
  
    Your eyes widened at his words. He couldn't be serious, could he?! What were you suppose to do now? Just as you began to panic, you saw a glimpse of Maui. All you had to do was to stall Tamatoa long enough for Maui to get his hook back. That shouldn't be too hard, right? You would just need to keep talking and try to get Tamatoa to talk as well.  
  
    "Before you do that, please, I just have a ques-" You began to say, but were interrupted by the monster,  
  
    "Are you just trying to get me to talk about myself?" You slowly nodded, scared he would get angry.  
  
    "Well, it's working."   
  
    You let out a little sigh as the creature began to ramble on and on about himself. You knew that with this guy talking, Maui would definitely have enough time to get his hook back. This guy was literally obsessed with himself. You had never met or seen someone who was so egotistical before. It was truly disgusting. You couldn't understand how someone could be this.   
  
    "Now, I wasn't always this shiny. Yes, I wanted to be beautiful but there is another perk to being so shiny. All of those dumb fish you see up there will fall down her and I keep getting free meals from them. All I had to do was make myself pretty and shiny. What more could I have asked for, a perfect body and all the food I could want. My stomach is never empty." He brought you closer to his gross face. His breath stank like rotting fish and you had to keep yourself from throwing up. It was hard enough to hide your gagging.   
  
    "Why don't you hide and hunt for your food like other creatures?" You asked, trying to give Maui even more time to get his hook. You weren't able to see if Maui was being successful in grabbing his hook. You thought it better to be safe than sorry. You'd give him more time, just in case he needed it. If he didn't, then that didn't matter. He would intervene sometime soon then.  
  
    "Why would I go out and hunt when I could just stay here and let the food come to me. I always have enough food to keep me satisfied. You came down here and now I'm getting hungry, talking about myself will do that, don't you understand? Now, you need to shut up. I haven't had a human in a loooong time." Tamatoa brought you toward his disgusting mouth. You struggled to get free, your adrenaline kicking in. You weren't ready to die just yet! You struggled with all of you might but it wasn't enough to get free.   
  
    "Tamatoa, put her down!" Maui shouted from the back of Tamatoa, on his shell. He had his hook in his hand, which made your stomach jump in relief. You weren't going to die today. Tamatoa just smirked and thew you in what seemed to be a cage. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a rip cage of some poor animal. You couldn't tell what it was from.   
  
    You quickly backed away from the bones, your stomach dropping to the ground. It was never a good sign when their were bones scattered around. You could hear a terrible amount of noise coming fro outside of your new prison cell. You knew that it was a fight, but with the grunts you heard, it sounded like Maui wasn't winning the battle. That worried you.  
  
    Working up the courage, you quickly ran over to the large bones to see what was going on. As you suspected, Maui was losing. Tamatoa was tossing him around like a rag doll. You know what to do. You couldn't fight, but you wanted to do something to help him.   
  
    That was when you noticed the glow that was coming from your hand. When you looked at it, you realized that when Tamatoa had thrown you, your hand had crushed some plants. The color remained you of...Quickly you came up with an idea. It could work and it was the only thing you thought you were able to do. You grabbed a smooth stone and covered it with the liquid from the crushed plants.  
  
    You hauled yourself up the bones, trying to ignore that it was bones you were touching. Once you reached the top, you hopped down on the other side. You took in a deep breath and silently hoped that this plan was going to work.   
  
  
    "Hey Tamatoa, here's something shiny!" You held your hand up, a determined look on your face. You made your fear stay hideen deep inside you. You needed to look brave and unafraid.   
  
    "The Heart of Ta Feti!" He quickly began to rush at you. You bit your lip, before flinging the item as far as possible. You were proud that you were able to throw it that far. Tamatoa ran after the object, soon out of your sight.   
  
    You ran over to Maui and began to help him up. He was covered in dirt and bruises, but it was stuff that he could deal with. You assumed that he had been hurt worse in the past.   
  
    "Come on, we need to go!" You told him.  
  
    "But, what about?" Before Maui could finish, you showed him the real Heart of Ta feti. He smirked and grabbed you by the waist before turning into a large hawk. The two of you flew up, back towards the boat, leaving Tamatoa seething. 


	6. Learning

  
    The two of you made it safely back to the boat. You were quickly back on the boat and sailing on the beautiful sea. It was so relaxing to be back on the sea instead of that terrible realm. It was a bright day out, which caused the water to sparkle. It looked so good and nice. You just wanted to relax near it. You knew it would be lovely to just swim in the water, not a care in the world.   
  
    You were laying on your back, looking up at the calm sky. You looked at the clouds and tried to make shapes out of them. While you were finding animals in the clouds, Maui was busy navigating the ship. The two of you hadn't spoken since you left the realm of Monsters. You didn't care. The silence helped you calm down. You could hear bird cawing in the distance and the waves lapping at the edge of your boat.   
  
    You were in such a dangerous situation just moments ago, but you had done the right thing. You acted in the moment and because of that, you were still here on the boat. You might have been the reason that everything went as successful as it had. That situation had proved to you that you were brace and strong enough to do this. You were going to be able to save your island. Your confidence had definitely been boosted.   
  
    You shut your eyes, just wanting to enjoy the different stimulation you were feel. The water that ran through your fingers felt amazing when it was paired with the sun that was warming your skin. It reminded you of what you would do when you were younger. You loved to run down to the shore and lay in the sand, far enough down so the ocean waves just reached your feet.   
  
    "You did good,kid." Maui glanced down at you before dealing with the sailing. You could tell that he was able to see how the events had effected you. He was trying to make you feel better about the whole thing. You didn't think that he was going to be successful, but you still appreciated the effort that he was making. You just needed some time to relax and process everything that had just happened.  
  
    "Thanks." You smiled, your fingertips grazing the top of the water. It was warm due to the sun beating down at it. If you went deeper, you knew that it would get colder. Yet, you were going to relish in the warmth that splashed on your hand and fingers. It reminded you of your island's shores that always was warm. Children learned how to swim at a very young age. Swimming was as natural as walking in your village. It made sense, due to the amount of time that your people spent near or in the water. No one didn't know how to swim, that was just how it had always been. It would be too dangerous to not know how to swim, since there was water everywhere.   
  
    "So, you don't know how to navigate the ship?" Maui asked suddenly, which caused you to become confused.  What was he, oh, now you remembered. You had told him that you couldn't navigate. You couldn't remember the exact moment, but that didn't matter.   
  
    "Yeah, I can't. I know how to sail a ship, but I can't navigate. My father never wanted me to learn. He never thought I would be in a position where I would need it." That was true. Your father always just assumed that you wanted to be chief when you were older, so you should just learn those skills. He kept you from learning other things, such as deviating, since you wouldn't need it. You loved your father, but when he tried to keep you from doing what you wanted, it really made you angry. You should be able to do what you wanted without him scolding you. You thought that he'd enjoy that you were just learning in general. Yet, he didn't. He wanted you to know everything to be a chief and nothing else.   
  
    "Wanna learn?"  
  
    Your heart dropped in your stomach, but not in a bad way. This wasn't fear. You had felt enough fear in the last few hours that you could tell what it felt like. This definitely wasn't fear. It was excitement and an overwhelming happiness. You didn't even need to look at your face to be able to tell that you were smiling from ear to ear. You could feel it and you could also feel your cheeks heating up from the excitement.    
  
    "Really? You would really teach me?"   
  
    "Yeah, why not? You proved to me back there that you are a strong girl. It's time that you learn how to navigate. You'll need to know it for your future adventures that you go on," Maui smiled as well, and it was a big, genuine grin. He was happy, actually having a good time. You hadn't seen this side of him during the entire trip. He would act stupid or silly, but he hadn't actually been just happy. Your heart jumped to your throat when you realized that you liked seeing him smile. He was really handsome. You decided you would like it if he would smile more. You wanted to see him be happy a lot more than he had been on the trip so far.   
  
    "Of course! I'd love to learn! Thank you, so much." You smiled, looking up at him. This seemed to just add to his own smile. You quickly got up, making sure not to fall off the boat or cause it to tip over. You were just so excited to learn. You had wanted to learn ever since yo had learned how to sail. As soon as he had offered to teach you, your memories of what had just happened began to fade. You forgot about Tamatoa and gave all of your attention to Maui, determined to be a good student.   
  
    "No problem. Now, lets start with the basics..."   
  
    So, for the rest of that day, Maui taught you how to navigate. He even promised to continue his lessons so you would soon be as good as him. You would soon become an expert, just like himself. 


	7. Te Ka

Finally, after days and days of this venture, you found it. The island! All you had to do now was return the heart and everything would go back to normal. You would be able to go back to your island and it would no longer be dying. You would have saved your people with the help of Maui, the demi-god. The story would end happily ever after. 

But, those thoughts went away once you saw what was waiting for you near the island. Te Ka, the woman made of lava with the angriest look on her face. She would not be letting you get close to the island as long as she was around. Both you and Maui knew that without even talking to each other. This added an additional problem to your trip. You had hoped this would be an easy end, but nothing ever was. 

"Maui-" You began but he cut you off, something he was great at doing. 

"Kid, let me fight her. You stay here and just wait for the fight to be over," And with that, he was gone. Off to fight Te Ka and make a way for you to get to the island. 

But, you couldn't just let him do this fight alone. You were a team and teammates worked together on things like this. You grabbed the rope and used the harsh winds near the island to sail the boat. You may not be able to fight but you were a skillful sailor. You would just use that to your advantage and help Maui out, whether he wanted you to or not. 

Swirving through the water, you distracted Te Ka multiple times, allowing Maui to get some hits in. Of course, it didn't work every time, but she had to keep shifting her attention back from you to Maui to you again, each of you on opposite sides of her. You could see Maui was upset with you at first but he had his hands full already and couldn't chide you at the moment. You knew he would be angry at you, but who cares. He needed to learn that you truly were a team and that the two of you needed to do this together. 

The fight was long and hard. You were pushed off the boat many times, falling into the water roughly. The ocean would grab you and place you back on the boat each time. Maui was flying around, attempting to fight off Te Ka. Neither of you had a solid plan. You hadn't thought of one before and this now it was too chaotic for you to think of one. Everything seemed to be going wrong, but you weren't ready for what happened next. 

The arm slammed against Maui, sending him flying back toward the ocean. A loud crack resounded and at first, you were worried that a bone had broken in his body, but soon you were able to see the crack that had formed on his hook. Te Ka had cracked Maui's hook! You didn't even know that was possible and it made your stomach twist with fear. What were you going to do now? 

Te Ka turned her attention to you but before she could do anything, the ocean took control of the situation. The waves began to smash against the boat, in an attempt to move it away as quickly as possible without sinking it. 

The boat, barely hanging on with the waves crashing against it, floated away from the island. Far enough away that Te Ka could no longer touch it with the hot lava of her body. The ocean was pushing you away, trying to help keep you safe. Time to regroup with Maui and come up with a better plan. This wasn't working but you knew you could come up with something that would! You went in up prepared but next time, you would be able to succeed in returning the heart. 

Maui landed on the boat, holding his hook close to his body. You could see the crack that Te Ka had created. The look on his face made your heartbreak. Sadness and emptiness, anger and fury. All of those emotions could be seen and made you begin to feel helpless. Before you could even say anything, Maui spoke up with his hair strands covering his eyes. 

"This is it." 

"What do you mean, Maui? All we have to do is come up with a better plan and then we can do it. We can get the heart back, we just went in without a plan at all," You squirmed, afraid where this conversation was going. 

"I'm not going to help you anymore. This isn't worth it. Fine. I'm not a hero. I'm not going to put myself in this anymore. I don't want to deal with it, okay? You can do it on your own. Or, you can just go back to your island and have your people move. I don't care what you do. I only accepted to do this because I thought it would be an easy thing to get you off my back. All I ever wanted was a way out of that island." 

"I thought we were part of a team! I cared for you! I thought you cared for me!" You shouted, tears streaming down your cheeks. You hadn't been expecting this kind of betrayal. Maybe at the beginning of the trip but as time progressed, the two of you had gotten closer. He was like a big brother to you now, or at least you thought he had been. 

"You thought wrong. I never cared about you. I just came along to get that ocean off my back but none of that matters now. I'm not risking it all for some little girl and her impossible dream." 

"Wa-" 

Maui turned away with his hook in his hand; he had a bit of a problem with changing into an eagle but ended up being successful. He soon began to fly away. He was gone and you were left alone. Alone with the sea lapping at the boat and the heart of Te Fiti in your hand.


End file.
